Blockchain Fueled By Conventional Assets, Not Crypto

Treasury bonds, gold, and stocks like the S&P 500 are driving on-chain growth, not cryptocurrencies. According to CoinShares' second Hybrid Finance report, tokenized real-world assets have more than tripled in value over the past year, reaching $7.4 billion by Q2 2026. This is a stark contrast to decentralized finance, which saw a 15% drop in deposits and a 70% decline in spot trading volumes on decentralized exchanges.

However, tokenized real-world assets are moving in the opposite direction, with spot trading volumes increasing by approximately 220%. Perpetual futures on these assets also continue to grow in both trading volume and open interest. The report's data reveals that deposits on-chain are dominated by Treasury and multi-strategy funds, followed by private credit and delta-neutral strategies.

The top spot trading asset is gold, while activity on perpetual futures platforms concentrates on oil, precious metals, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq-100, and technology and semiconductor stocks. None of these assets are cryptocurrencies, but rather conventional exposures in global markets. CoinShares frames this as evidence that blockchain is not replacing traditional finance, but rather reshaping its infrastructure.

CoinShares' Co-Founder, President, and CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti said the data confirms a view held for over a decade: 'Treasury, gold, S&P 500, and tech stocks are the real assets being used on-chain, none of them are crypto assets. This isn't traditional finance being abandoned; it's the focus shifting to infrastructure that settles quickly and never closes.'